The Sweepzy journal
Good reads.
Better comping.
Ideas, practical advice, and a little inspiration for your next entry. Get to know the world of UK competitions.
Fresh perspectives
89 stories in the journal
Beginner Guides
Creating a Comping Spreadsheet From Scratch: A Step-by-Step UK Tutorial
A step-by-step tutorial for creating a comping spreadsheet from scratch in Google Sheets. We start with a blank file and build up to a working competition tracker — every cell, every formula, every conditional formatting rule, explained.
Beginner Guides
Local vs National Competitions UK: Which Has Better Odds (and How to Win Both)
Local UK competitions have a fraction of the entries of national ones — sometimes 50 entrants vs 50,000. We explain the comp pool maths, where to find local competitions (community boards, local newspapers, council newsletters, regional Facebook groups), how to spot region-locked national comps, and how to balance local and national entries for the best overall win rate.
Beginner Guides
What is Comping? The UK Hobby of Entering Competitions, Explained
What is comping? It's the British hobby of regularly entering competitions, prize draws and sweepstakes to win prizes. We explain how UK comping actually works, what people win, why it's legal and tax-free, and how to get started.
Beginner Guides
Comping Strategies and Tips: 20 Tactics That Actually Win UK Compers Prizes
Twenty practical comping strategies and tips that win real prizes for UK compers. Beginner-to-intermediate tactics — entry selection, timing, social comps, tie-breakers, tracking — explained in plain English.
Beginner Guides
Essential Comping Tools UK 2026: The Honest Toolkit
The honest, opinionated list of essential comping tools UK compers actually use in 2026 — competition trackers, browser auto-fill, password managers, calendars, dedicated email and the communities worth your time. Plus what to skip.
Beginner Guides
Magazine and Newspaper Competitions UK: The Complete Comper's Guide
Magazine and newspaper competitions remain one of the best-kept secrets in UK comping — fewer entries, higher value prizes, and a long, well-established postal tradition. Here's how the weekly mags, the Sunday papers, the quiz inserts and the puzzle pages actually work, and how to enter them without wasting stamps.
Beginner Guides
Maximising Your Chances of Winning UK Competitions: A Practical Strategy Guide
How to actually improve your odds of winning UK competitions: the volume + niche combo, time-of-day patterns, eligibility maths, creative comps as an odds multiplier, and the 'small win streak' framing that keeps the hobby fun while the bigger wins build up.
Beginner Guides
Managing Your Comping Hobby: A Sustainable UK Guide
Managing your comping hobby is the part nobody talks about — fitting it around work, family and your other interests without it taking over. Here's the honest UK guide to sustainable comping: goals, ROI, partner conversations, when to scale back, and how to keep wins separate from self-worth.
Beginner Guides
Comping Techniques and Strategies: 5 Deep Frameworks the Best UK Compers Use
Five deep comping techniques and strategies for compers ready to graduate from tips to systems. Portfolio theory, entry-rate ROI, prize segmentation, the methodology winners use — built for serious UK compers.
Beginner Guides
Beginner's Guide to Comping: Your First Month, Step by Step
A beginner's guide to comping for total newcomers — the absolute first 5 steps to take today, then week-by-week through your first month, with honest UK win-timeline expectations and the entry types best suited to your first 30 days.
Beginner Guides
How to Win Competitions in the UK: A Complete Comping Guide
A no-fluff guide to how to win UK competitions — where the best free comps actually live, the entry methods that beat the odds, and the daily routine that turns the hobby into real wins.
Beginner Guides
How to Enter Sweepstakes Online Free: The Practical UK Walkthrough
How to enter sweepstakes online for free in the UK — the practical 'where do I actually click' walkthrough. From setting up a comping email to web forms, social entries, browser extensions, what to look for in aggregator categories, and the daily routine experienced compers actually run.